Intelligence

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch accused the United States of massive civilian deaths and potentially grave violations of international law during the drone wars in Pakistan and Yemen. The March 2014 report by Amnesty International ("Will I Be Next?") was dedicated to the recent drone strikes in Pakistan, while the Human Rights Watch ("Between a Drone and al-Qaeda") described the situation in Yemen.

Amnesty International claimd that at least one drone strike "violated the prohibition of the arbitrary deprivation of life and may constitute war crimes or extrajudicial execution" and calls to set up a trial and convict those responsible of the inhuman crimes. However, the White House dismissed all the accusations and denied any wrongdoing in its drone program. According to White House spokesman Jay Carney, "US counterterrorism operations are precise, they are lawful and they are effective."

Meanwhile some experts believe that Obamaís administration should better distance itself from drone strikes practice instead of justifying the program. "Realistically, the policy window for reforming how the US conducts lethal counterterrorism strikes is closed in Washington," said Council on Foreign Relations fellow Micah Zenko, the author of Between Threats and War: US Discrete Military Operations in the Post-Cold War World.

The frequency of U.S. drone strikes increased from two instances during the period of 2002 and 2004 to 161 between 2009 and 2010. Growing with the numbers were the casualties of these operations. The strikes conducted between 2002 and 2004 resulted in the deaths of two high value targets and killed eleven others. The strikes between 2009 and 2010 killed seven high value targets, causing the deaths of 1,029 others.

An analysis in early 2013 by the New America Foundation estimated drone strikes in Pakistan and Yemen since 2004 had killed up to 3,238 militants and as many as 368 civilians. The military can only actually take out someone if they know 100 percent that itís a bad guy. The CIA will take out somene on the basis that your behavior leads them to suspect that he may be a bad guy.

By January 2015 drone attacks carried out by US forces outside its stated war zones had resulted in at least 2,464 deaths since Obama took office in January 2009, at least 314 of whom were civilians, according to statistics from a UK research organization. "The covert Obama strikes, the first of which hit Pakistan just three days after his inauguration, have killed almost six times more people and twice as many civilians than those ordered in the Bush years," the Bureau of Investigation Journalism said in its report, which was published at the beginning of February 2015.

A survey of Pakistani public opinion carried out by the Pew Research Center in Spring 2014 found that 66 percent of those questioned disapproved of drone strikes, while only 3 percent approved; 74 percent of respondents said they think drones kill too many innocent people.

The US continues to be one of only a handful of countries where public opinion in favor of strikes by unmanned aerial vehicles outweighs disapproval of their use. According to research from Pew carried out in Spring 2014, more than half those polled in the US, Kenya and Israel supported drone strikes, while in 39 of 44 countries surveyed, majorities or pluralities of those questioned opposed the strategy. The Center also noted that public opposition towards drone campaigns has increased in many nations since a survey carried out the previous year.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) make significant contributions to the warfighting capability of operational forces. They greatly improve the timeliness of battlefield information while reducing the risk of capture or loss of manned RECCE assets. When compared to manned RECCE aircraft they are cost effective and versatile systems. While reconnaissance, intelligence, surveillance, and target acquisition (RISTA) are the premier missions of UAVs, they can also provide substantial support to intelligence preparation of the battlefield (IPB), situation development, battle management (BM), battle damage assessment (BDA), and even rear area security (RAS) to monitor our OPSEC posture.

HISTORY

Although much of the technology and equipment associated with the UAV are relatively new, the concept is old. Before the US entered
World War I, the US Navy (USN) developed a seaplane that could operate without a pilot onboard. Experimentation continued on the concept through the 1920s and 1 930s. The Navy also developed and used a small plywood UAV in the Pacific in World War II to attack heavily defended targets.

The Army Air Corps experienced heavy losses of aircraft and trained aircrews in World War II and thus the Aphrodite Project was conceived . Aphrodite used old B-17 aircraft loaded with explosives, flown to altitude by a pilot, who then bailed out. A second B-17 assumed radio control of the unmanned aircraft and directed it to crash into a target. After World War II, drone B-1 7's were used in atom bomb tests in the South Pacific.

At Fort Huachuca in the late 1950s the Army placed cameras on target drones and developed an operational UAV reconnaissance system. Several years later they replaced the camera with a television system.

By 1964, an Air Force drone reconnaissance program, know as Buffalo Hunter, was under full development. A C-1 30D aircraft could carry up to four drones under it's wings, flying out of Vietnam they would launch them like missiles on a preprogrammed flight over enemy held territory. From the mid-1960s until the end of the Vietnam War, more than 3,000 missions were flown over North Vietnam and China.

The Navy also used UAVs during the Vietnam War. One program, called DASH, was a remote helicopter carrying a television camera and two 250-pound torpedoes was used to detect and destroy North Vietnam supply barges in Mekong Delta waterways. Although this program enjoyed several successful missions, the helicopter flight gyroscopes were not up to standard and the program was discontinued.

By the mid-1980s, a joint project, the Pioneer UAV system, came into being. The Pioneer was used in Operations Desert Storm and provided outstanding intelligence and fire support information to the commander.

Other countries such as Israel, the former Soviet Union, and several European countries have also integrated UAVs into military operations with a high degree of success.

During Operation Iraqi Freedom, the need for timely and actionable intelligence underlined the increased need for UAVs. The Chicago Tribune reported in a November 23, 2004 story, that Army Brigades operating in Iraq had the number of UAVs assigned to them increase from two to three. Similarly, each brigade was to be assigned four teams of 22 soldiers to operate the 450 unmanned aerial vehicles reported to be in Iraq.

UAV Classes

UAVs are divided by class category. During operations where more than one system is available, UAV systems can be task organized and class categories selected to achieve the required flexibility and capability. This a listing of UAV class categories as recognized by the
Department of Defense (DOD) UAV Master Plan. The categories are by range or flight hours, or both.

While there are differences in range and capabilities, all of these categories of UAVs are considered to be members of the family of
UAVs. The family of UAVs concept is based upon commonality and interpretability. All ground receivers are capable of receiving the video
of any other UAV within range, regardless of the class category.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are remotely piloted or self-piloted aircraft that can carry cameras, sensors, communications equipment or other payloads. They have been used in a reconnaissance and intelligence-gathering role since the 1950s, and more challenging roles are envisioned, including combat missions. Since 1964 the Defense Department has developed 11 different UAVs, though due to acquisition and development problems only 3 entered production. The US Navy has studyied the feasibility of operating VTOL UAVs since the early 1960s, the QH-50 Gyrodyne torpedo-delivery drone being an early example. However, high cost and technological immaturity have precluded acquiring and fielding operational VTOL UAV systems.

By the early 1990s DOD sought UAVs to satisfy surveillance requirements in Close Range, Short Range or Endurance categories. Close Range was defined to be within 50 kilometers, Short Range was defined as within 200 kilometers and Endurance as anything beyond. By the late 1990s, the Close and Short Range categories were combined, and a separate Shipboard category emerged. The current classes of these vehicles are the Tactical UAV and the Endurance category.

Pioneer: Procured beginning in 1985 as an interim UAV capability to provide imagery intelligence for tactical commanders on land and see at ranges out to 185 kilometers. No longer in the Army inventory (returned to the US Navy in 1995).

Tactical UAV : Designed to support tactical commanders with near-real-time imagery intelligence at ranges up to 200 kilometers. Outrider Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (ACTD) program terminated. Material solution for TUAV requirements is being pursued through a competive acquisition process with goal of contract award in DEC 99.

Joint Tactical UAV (Hunter): Developed to provide ground and maritime forces with near-real-time imagery intelligence at ranges up to 200 kilometers; extensible to 300+ kilometers by using another Hunter UAV as an airborne relay. Training base located at Fort Huachuca, with additional baseline at Fort Polk to support JRTC rotations. Operational assets based at Fort Hood (currently supporting the KFOR in Kosovo).

Medium Altitude Endurance UAV (Predator): Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration now transitioned to Low-Rate Initial Production (LRIP). Provides imagery intelligence to satisfy Joint Task Force and Theater Commanders at ranges out to 500 nautical miles. No longer in the Army inventory (transferred to the US Air Force in 1996).

High Altitude Endurance UAV (Global Hawk): Intended for missions requiring long-range deployment and wide-area surveillance (EO/IR and SAR) or long sensor dwell over the target area. Directly deployable from CONUS to the theater of operations. Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (ACTD) managed by the US Air Force.

Tactical Control Station (TCS): The Tactical Control Station is the software and communications links required to control the TUAV, MAE-UAV, and other future tactical UAV's. It also provides connectivity to other C4I systems.

Micro Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (MAV): DARPA program to explore the military relevance of Micro Air Vehicles for future military operations, and to develop and demonstrate flight enabling technologies for very small aircraft (less than 15cm/6in. in any dimension).

The Air Force is interested in aggressively pursuing emerging technologies to develop, field, and operate UAV solutions for applicable military roles across the spectrum of warfare to meet validated needs within specific mission areas based on cost, capability, reliability and suitability. Consistent with these objectives, the air vehicles directorate is interested in proposals for technology development which demonstrate revolutionary potential to cut cost, weight or increase performance. Candidate technologies include: Automated Flight Control Systems, Autonomous Aerial Refueling, Flexible Structures, Low-cost Composite Technology, Multifunctional Integrated Structures and Subsystems, Active Flow Control as well as Preliminary Design Tools for Advanced Technologies.

Uninhabited Air Vehicles may have commercial applications. Mail delivery, automated pipeline monitoring, drug enforcement and border control are but a few examples of the potential commercial uses. In addition, the revolutionary technologies of interest to the Air Vehicles Directorate also have dual use potential. Automated flight control has application to military and commercial UAVs in operations in mixed manned and unmanned air space and to general aviation in terms of reducing pilot work. Autonomous refueling can reduce control-related accidents as well as greatly enhance UAV endurance and range. Flexible and adaptive structures technology can extend the range and reduce maintenance costs for military and commercial high speed transports. Also, increased application of microprocessor technology in smart commodity products will also benefit from this technology by allowing embedding of electronic chips, wiring, power and other devices. Low Cost Composite Technologies and multifunctional integrated Structures and Subsystems have a wide variety of applications in commercial aviation and transportation vehicles where cost and weight are extremely critical for commercial viability. Active flow control technology can reduce drag and wheel well noise on military and commercial transports. Preliminary design tools can increase the effectiveness of all these technologies as these technologies come together in military and commercial products.